Conditions 11/26/2006

[riderx]

Seminary (lower reservoir) trails:
Overall in good shape, the majority of trails were slightly tacky with mud holes in the usual spots that will still take days to dry. A good armoring session (http://www.imba.com/resources/trail_building/rock_armoring.html) would go a long way in fixing those spots for good.

Merryman's (upper reservoir) trails: Got a report from a rider I know that the utilities company has done some major cutting on the Merryman's loop and in the process left massive amounts of debris that has shut down part of the singletrack that connects to the fireroad. If you are entering from Dulany Valley near the road split to do the loop counter-clockwise you'll have a hard time exiting the singletrack climb to connect to the fireroad.

[rmac]

I pedaled the NE side of Merryman's today with the idea of clearing the area RiderX mentioned in his post. The trails are dry, but the high winds yesterday created some deep leave drifts that are slow going. There is a big tree down on the slope just beyond the narrow metal bridge. There was no detouring around it, so I stacked it but plan to go back & put more time into the lead in to this log pile. I also cleared a trail through all the trees that the utilty co left littered on the hillside a few miles in, This new reroute is rideable, but needs more work as well. These downed trees can also be detoured by heading straight up the hill to the fire road - about 100 yards from the single track - the fire road is clear. All in all, the trails are clear, but the leaves make for a tough ride & make sections of the trail hard to find. I'll most likely ride from seminary tomorrow - hope the wind dried things out; then maybe back to Merryman's to put in some more work.